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Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference was established to begin play for the 2013-14 season Creation The impetus for the establishment of the league was in September 2010, when oil and natural gas magnate Terry Pegula and his wife Kim donated $88 million to establish a Division I hockey program. Six months later the Big Ten Conference announced it own hockey program as the conference now had enough Division I programs (six) to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The following schools joined from the disbanded CCHA: Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State. While Minnesota and Wisconsin joined from the WCHA. Penn State was previously an independent. Championships and NCAA Tournaments The new league upon establishment had the following pedigree: *23 Frozen Four championships *68 Frozen Four appearnces *127 NCAA Division I tournament appearances *48 Division I conference tournament championships *56 Division I conference regular season championships Not included in these totals are Penn State's 7 Tournament championships and 23 tournament appearances while members of the American Collegiate Hockey Association, which is a non-varsity league. source: Big Ten 2013-14 media guide Expansion The conference announced on March 23, 2016 that University of Notre Dame has been added as a sport affiliate member for men's ice hockey beginning with the 2017-18 academic year. As a result of a study conducted in cooperation with the National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players' Association a recomendation was made for the University of Illinois-Champaign. A recomendation for a 5,000 to 6,000 seat arena be built in the downtown section of Champaign. The university has not decided whether or not to launch a hockey program which is estimated to cost over $50 million. The arena would also be used for other sports at the university such as volleyball, wrestling and gymnastics. Potential In-conference Expansion All of the present membership that do not compete in the men's ice hockey conference offer club ice hockey. *Purdue Boilermakers *Illinois Fighting Illini (see note above) *Indiana Hoosiers *Iowa Hawkeyes *Maryland Terrapins *Nebraska Cornhuskers *Northwestern Wildcats *Rutgers Scarlet Knights Conference Tournament For the 2014 through 2017 tournaments the games were held at a single location (Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota in 2014 and 2016) and (the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan in (2015 and 2017) The top two seeds earned a first round bye, the third seed played the sixth seed and the fourth seed played the fifth seed. The lower seeded first round winner would play the confernce regular season champion and the higher seeded first round winner would play the second seeded team. The semifinal winner would meet for the conference championship and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. With the addition of Notre Dame for the 2018-19 season it has been reported the format will change. The games will move from a single location to campus locations for all games. The regular season champion will earn a first round bye and continue to have home ice advantage throughout their stay in the tournament. The first round will feature best-of-three series involving the #2 vs #7, #3 vs #6, and #4 vs #5. The lowest seeded first round winner will travel to the top seed and the lower of the other two first round winners will travel to the highest seeded first round winner in a single elimination semifinal. The single elimination final will be held at the rink of the higher seeded semifinal winner. The tournament winner will be awarded the conferences automatic bid to the NCAA tournament Conference arenas Regular Season Champions *2013-14 - Minnesota Golden Gophers *2014-15 - Minnesota Golden Gophers *2015-16 - Minnesota Golden Gophers *2016-17 - Minnesota Golden Gophers *2017-18 - Notre Dame Fighting Irish *2018-19 - Ohio State Buckeyes Tournament Champions *2014 - Wisconsin Badgers *2015 - Minnesota Golden Gophers *2016 - Michigan Wolverines *2017 - Penn State Nittany Lions *2018 - Notre Dame Fighting Irish *2019 - Notre Dame Fighting Irish League Seasons *2013-14 Big Ten Season *2014-15 Big Ten Season *2015-16 Big Ten Season *2016-17 Big Ten Season *2017-18 Big Ten Season *2018-19 Big Ten Season Category:NCAA Category:Big Ten Conference